Chapter 15 - THE BRIDE WHO FINALLY CHOSE HER OWN FUTURE
Roman opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a sapphire ring.
Not Elena's diamond.
Not a symbol of betrayal.
Something new.
Something chosen for Genevieve.
"Genevieve Hayes," Roman said, "will you marry me?"
She stared at him.
For a moment, she remembered the cathedral.
The heavy wedding dress.
The cold marble corridor.
Preston's voice.
The terrible truth about her father's death.
She remembered running barefoot through the rain.
The steel door.
The mafia boss who opened it.
The ring that connected two families.
The secrets that nearly destroyed them.
Then she looked at Roman.
He wasn't asking her to surrender her company.
He wasn't asking her to forget her father.
He wasn't asking her to become smaller so he could feel powerful.
He was asking to stand beside her.
"Yes," she whispered.
Roman's eyes filled.
She smiled.
"Yes."
He stood.
She kissed him.
And Chicago glittered around them.
They married the following spring.
The ceremony was held in a small garden overlooking Lake Michigan.
No five hundred guests.
No political spectacle.
No elaborate prenuptial agreement designed to take away her independence.
Just family.
Friends.
And people who had stood beside them through the difficult years.
Elena served as Roman's witness.
Margaret sat in the front row.
Genevieve carried a small photograph of her father inside her bouquet.
When she reached the altar, Roman smiled.
"You look beautiful."
She laughed softly.
"I know."
He grinned.
They exchanged vows.
Not promises of perfect lives.
But promises of honesty.
Respect.
And choosing each other freely.
At the reception, Elena raised her glass.
"To the woman who ran through the wrong door."
The guests laughed.
Elena smiled.
"And found the right people."
Genevieve's eyes filled.
Later that evening, she and Roman stood beside the lake.
The water reflected the moonlight.
Roman took her hand.
"Any regrets?"
Genevieve looked at him.
"One."
He frowned.
"What?"
She smiled mischievously.
"I should have kicked off those wedding shoes sooner."
Roman laughed.
She leaned against him.
For the first time in years, she felt entirely free.
She had saved her father's company.
Helped expose the people responsible for his death.
Found love without surrendering herself.
And discovered that the most important decision of her life had not been whom to marry.
It had been the moment she chose to run.
May you like
Not away from her future.
But toward it.
